And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled.
And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
Comment: We can learn lessons from the six people in this short passage. Four weren’t named here but two of those unnamed here are in another gospel – namely Peter and Malchus. 1. Peter – If as many suggest Peter was a main source for Mark to write his gospel, I wonder if Peter requested that his name not be written here. He, we know, was at the beginning a bit tempestuous, he was no doubt ashamed that he deserted Jesus later, but here we see his brave, almost heroic effort to fight off the mob whom had come to arrest Jesus. The story is expanded elsewhere but in Mark’s rendition of the arrest story, Peter showed himself to be a man’s man! 2. Malchus – was the name of the guy who lost his ear. You wonder how much of his ear was removed! A sword can do a lot of damage to an ear! Peter was told to ‘stop’, and Jesus graciously repaired the damage, as Luke tells us. Although he is described as a servant, Malchus was in the centre of power – the High Priest’s Office. Did he have a choice or was he under orders? You and I have choices to make or sometimes are caught in difficult circumstances. Jesus here being treated abominably was His very gracious self, and healed him. 3. The arresting crowd. So many people like these guys just go about living and are caught up in doing the wrong thing. Be careful! 4. The Young man. Who can blame him for what he did? I think that I would probably have done the same at his age! If the reports are correct, and if he was the author of this book, then upon deliberation he chose wisely. Choosing a better way is always open to us! 5. Judas – What a conniving rotter! 6 Jesus.- What a man! Betrayed by a kiss, he simply says to his captors, ‘what’s kept you so long? Let the others go.’ He is my Lord!
Isaiah 53: 7 – He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Prayer: When I have to make decisions please help me to be strong and make the choices which show true ‘godly’ character.
As I read it! 